


Practice

by Odessa Santa Maria (yuumegari)



Series: Getting Down with the Arcana [4]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Shameless Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:54:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22858864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuumegari/pseuds/Odessa%20Santa%20Maria
Summary: Muriel is a quick study, and the apprentice is surprised to see him take the lead. This is technically written as a follow-up to Protection, but I’ve written this so that no names are actually mentioned, so it’s first-person all the way.
Relationships: Apprentice/Muriel (The Arcana), Muriel (The Arcana)/Reader
Series: Getting Down with the Arcana [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627870
Comments: 5
Kudos: 138





	Practice

**Author's Note:**

> I haven’t been sleeping lately, so I wrote this, and damn it all, I want a Muriel. This is also way shorter than I thought...and very much rushed at the end because I just needed it to be done. Oh well. Still steamy, I hope??

The evening is serene, and Muriel’s hut is cozy and comfortable. The crackling of the fire is a reminder that I’m home, and I’m with my protector, the man I love. I sense his presence nearby; that beautiful verdant aura is hard for me to miss, now that I know what to look for.

“Muri, I know you’re there,” I smile, chopping vegetables to add to tonight’s dinner, not turning back. “You know I don’t need myrrh to see you.”

“I-I know,” he grumbles, good-natured. I don’t have to look at him to know that he’s probably got a hand on the back of his head, looking sheepish and adorable. I want to kiss him, but I also want to get dinner ready, so I continue smiling to myself, humming a song from long ago.

To my surprise, he wraps his massive arms around my small body. Tilting my head back, I look up at him curiously. I was not expecting him to be fresh from a hot bath in the nearby spring. I was also not expecting him to come back without covering up down below; he’s usually self-conscious about that. It seems, though, that this evening is a delightful anomaly. Behind me, it’s hard to miss that he’s gotten quite energetic.

It had been a week or so since we first slept together. I was concerned that perhaps it was too much for him, and maybe he didn’t actually like it as much as I thought he did. (Admittedly, it was almost too much for me; I had passed out after the fourth time he came, and it was very early morning when I saw that he had finally fallen asleep.) Or, more realistically, he wasn’t sure how to talk about it after the fact. I’d been mindful of giving him space. Sex is an awful lot to digest when both parties are all-in for it, and I’m sure there’s a bit more processing that needs to go on for recent-virgins like Muri.

I don’t intend to be coy when he’s the one who brought it up. It must have taken a lot of effort on his part, and my heart melts to think about what he might have done to prepare for this. I take his large hand in mine, intertwining our fingers, and I kiss his knuckles gently. “Let me get this in the pot first, okay?”

He grunts in affirmation, and I quickly finish the cooking preparations, wiping my hands down on my apron. Smoothing my hair back, I turn to look at my shy, wonderful Muri. My eyes widen as I realize he hadn’t been wearing *anything* when he was standing there. He stands somewhat awkwardly, but manages to keep his tightly fisted hands close to his sides rather than covering his lengthy cock in embarrassment. I let a breath escape as I take his body in, glorious and wet and solid. His abs are perfectly chiseled, and as he breathes, they seem to be shuddering slightly. “You’re cold,” I say softly, walking up to him, taking his hand in mine and kissing his knuckles again, brushing my fingertips over his hardened nipples.

The hiss turns into a pleasured sigh as I bring my lips to his solar plexus, right beneath his pecs. I’m so short that I can’t quite reach much else, but he doesn’t seem to mind. He strokes my hair and I hear my name slip from his lips, just above a whisper, as he pulls me close. Wordlessly, he lifts me off of my feet, placing me on the elevated bed he makes for me when I’m there. From here, he can kiss me easily, despite our height difference, and I breathe him in gratefully, smiling when I feel his tongue at my lips.

Muri is most certainly a quick study. His hands are tentative as he slides them down my arms, the small of my back, the curve of my ass. I shiver, back arching slightly, as he moves to kiss my neck. “Muri...” I breathe, my eyelids fluttering shut as he allows himself full discovery of my body.

His brilliant green eyes are piercing, holding my gaze with his warm hand on my cheek, thumb brushing my lips tenderly before bringing his lips down to mine again. It is the sweetest kiss, one I could have never requested for lack of the right words. In this, he delivers an unspoken promise of his everlasting loyalty. He tells me that he will always reveal himself to me, that I will never forget him of his own accord as long as we both shall live. This man, powerful and gentle, has vowed himself to me with a single breath held between us. What a precious promise he’s given me...

“Would you...let me be close to you?” Muri asks, his deep voice wavering just so, as if he’s afraid of my answer. “The way you showed me before...?”

He moves his hand to my breast to demonstrate, and his entire face goes a pleasant shade of red. To his credit, he does not look away, and my heart thumps with greedy desire for the purity of his lust and longing. My breath catches in my throat when he leans down to lick one of my nipples gingerly, sending electricity up my spine. His hands pull my body closer by the small of my back, and with each hesitant movement of his tongue, I fight the urge to pounce onto him. I must be on the verge of insanity; it feels good, too good, and I clutch the sheets desperately when he takes the nipple into his warm mouth.

My pussy lips are swollen, and the fire in my loins is tempered by fierce longing. Muriel takes the other nipple, his tongue rounding in careful circles, and I wonder what he thinks of when he hears me moan. It takes a lot to make this man emote, and I have the sudden urge to hear him say my name. In due time, though. For now, I think it’s clear that he wants to take the lead, and I won’t take that from him. It’s practice, after all.

Muriel suckles me one last time before coming up for air and another kiss. His cheeks are flushed, but there’s determination in his touch and a hunger in his eyes that make me restless. Suggestively, I spread my legs for him, and the ragged breath he lets out is its own reward. He takes a deep breath through his nose, stroking his cock with both hands — gods, does he know how delicious he makes it look when he does that? — pressing the tip against my slit. I want him so badly that I’m on the verge of tears. I bite my lip, unable to stop my hips from thrusting against his length, eager to take all of him into me in one go. But I remain strong and steady, ready to go at his pace.

Thankfully, I don’t have to wait long. I had forgotten that we didn’t go through any foreplay techniques for me, but with his thick cock inching into my cunt, it’s hard to remember anything at all. I squeal his name, enthralled, inhaling his clean scent, feeling heady from the heat of the fire...to think, this man loves me the way I love him. “Oh, Muri...I love you,” I choke, my eyes rolling to the back of my head as I feel the tip of his cock reach my innermost parts.

“Nngh...!”

At the sound of my confession, he bucks his hips wildly, and I’m convinced that I’ve died and gone to heaven. His rod rams into me relentlessly, and he hasn’t come just yet, though I can feel him throbbing inside of me. Has he reached my cervix? The thought passes as I feel him grabbing hold of my waist for leverage, pulling my body against him as if we could merge into one. Mindlessly, I bring a fingertip to my clit and brush against it with barely any resistance. Gods, to be fucked like this was a luxury! He suppresses a roar into the crook of my neck, and I can feel the twitching heat against my walls. “Come for me, Muri.”

With a great, heaving sigh of relief, he empties his seed into me, and I wrap my legs around him with the intent of keeping him there. I am so small pinned under him, and I writhe in ecstasy knowing that he’s filled me properly. Unconsciously, my walls squeeze around him, and he sounds like he’s in pain. “Oh, Muriel, I’m so sorry, I can’t control it, I...”

He silences me with a fierce kiss, and I melt into him. I’m surprised for only a moment, and having him take the lead turns me on like nothing else. When I open my eyes, I’m greeted by Muriel’s heavily dilated pupils, and I feel an animalistic instinct flare from within me. Ensuring he follows my lead, I get onto all fours and face away from him, turning my head back, raising my ass into the air. Without sparing a second to think, Muriel hungrily presses his face between my legs, and I can feel his tongue lapping the bottom of my clit, his callused hands grasping the flesh of my buttocks. The sensation is incredible and fleeting; I’m close to another orgasm when he pulls away, and his tongue is replaced by the tip of his cock. His fingers dance along my slickness in generous strokes before re-introducing the first half of his length into me.

From this new angle, a part of me is released. Greedily, I slam myself back onto him every time he thrusts into my tight hole. We fuck like animals, and there are no words, just passionate heat. Was it possible for him to break me? I found that I didn’t care; as long as he didn’t stop pounding into me, this is all I needed. His fingers dig into the flesh of my hips, groping for purchase, finding a seamless rhythm for us to follow. I scream his name into a pillow before I realize I’ve blacked out for a spell.

Upon awakening, Muriel is still going strong. I can’t have been out for long, though I have no way of telling. My pussy is dripping with his seed and my stickiness, and he hasn’t stopped pummeling into me. How many times has he come? Part of the bottom half of my body has gone numb, but there’s enough feeling for me to register that my face must be contorted into a mask of enraptured bliss. Weakly, I grab hold of the pillows and sheets, bracing myself with each push. Another few moments pass before I realize my legs have given out, and I’ve collapsed onto the bed in earnest.

Muriel is panting, and he is stroking his slippery cock furiously after the sudden absence of my tight walls. With a few breathless grunts, he is coming again. I feel the thick fire sprinkling the skin of my exposed back, and it is with an embarrassed delight that I realize he’s completely spent. His legs, now wobbly with exhaustion, shakily push him onto the higher bed next to me. He wipes sweat from my delicate brow before kissing my forehead. Deep breaths from his nose remind me to take care of myself, too, and I snuggle into his chest.

“I’m sorry I got you dirty,” he whispers, voice hoarse and unfairly sexy in tone and word choice. “Did I do all right? Was it okay for you?”

It takes a grand effort to not laugh aloud, partially because it is a silly question, and partially because I am so tired I can barely open my mouth. “Muri. Look at me. I’m in a heap, hardly able to move, and I’m curled up next to my favorite person in the world, warm and safe and very thoroughly pleasured,” I list out, concerned that I must be at least a little slurred. “It is more than okay. You really...mm...”

He runs a finger down my spine slowly as I speak, distracting me with the tingling sensations that rival the heat between my legs. “You really learn fast, don’t you?” I finish shakily as he starts rubbing my nipples with his still-warm semen. “Ahh, you’ll get me all sticky...”

“We can bathe together,” he mumbles; is that a seductive tone I detect? “I love having you close to me, and...I like it when you wash me. And when you let me wash your back.”

My heart does a backflip, and I bite my tongue to stop myself from squealing in glee for too long. Post-coital silliness is always such a strange experience, but to me, it is a mark of intimacy and complete trust. I manage to keep it down to a giggle, and I lazily wrap my arms around his neck so I can kiss his collarbone. “Mm-hmmnh,” I agree, tracing circles around his dark nipples. “But maybe we should rest a bit first, don’t you think?”

To my surprise, he grins down sheepishly, and holds my face in his hands, kissing the top of my head, my forehead, my lips. “I’m sorry. I forget sometimes that...that I have a lot more energy than most,” he says, dragging his hands down my back, where his seed has since dried; every part of me he touches burns with a sinful sensation. “I-If I, er...if I told you there’s something here that can keep you awake and alert, would you...um...would you want to try it? I j-just want to make sure I can help you get clean, that’s all, I...”

Muriel’s desire is impressive enough to make me raise my brows, intrigued and very much willing to try anything that allows him to continue making love to me. I brush my lips against his knuckles and smile up at him, nodding. Even if he *did* just want to clean me, I would absolutely do so much more if I could just move my body again...

The bed becomes cold next to me when he rises to get the item, and I shiver, nipples hardening without him to keep me warm. Amazing how quickly that can happen, and how quickly his presence radiates a loving glow that melts all the bad things away. In his hand is a vial that I recognize from my shop, with a flower that I have never seen before. Its vivid colors seem to be borrowed from a magical realm, one that feels awfully familiar. I widen my eyes and ask, “Is this from Asra’s...?”

He nods, his face turning that familiar shade of adorable pink. “He, ah...he gave it to me when I said you’d be staying with me tonight,” he mutters under his breath. “He just...told me it...would be helpful if you...w-well, he...he said you would probably want the option to keep going if your body didn’t...keep up with mine...”

“That fox,” I say, throwing my head back with a laugh. “Well, I suppose he does know us both very well, doesn’t he? So, what do I do with this?”

“Um...he says you just need to open the bottle and sniff it gently, and definitely not more than one inhale.”

I do so. My veins seem to be full of light and magic the moment the aroma hits my nostrils, and he seals the bottle tightly before stowing it away. I’m amazed at how quickly the flower works, and how potent it must be to revive me like this. I feel rested, as if I’ve just woken from a full night’s sleep. I’ll have to ask Asra about this mysterious flower the next time I see him, but I imagine it must be dangerous to some degree. Besides, all I care about is that my Muriel is still completely nude with me, and the smell of sex still hangs in the air. He lifts me off of the bed as if I’m a newly married wife, and carries me out toward the hidden hot spring near his hut. It’s chilly out, but Muriel is like a massive heater, and my body is submerged in the healing waters before I get a chance to chatter my teeth.

After asking for permission, Muriel is gentle as he washes our mixed juices off of my body. The water is perfectly hot, and my muscles sing with joy as he rubs my back in slow circles. The sounds of the night envelop us in a comfortable quiet, and we find ourselves kissing before too long. We clean each other by rubbing our wet bodies together, though it is debatable to say whether we’ve actually done anything productive. My hands are in his damp hair, and I straddle him in a kneel, my stomach pressed against his chest. The size difference is alarming, but I don’t care. I only have eyes for Muriel.

He is tender with me, trailing tentative kisses along my arm down to my hands, ending with each of my fingertips. The juxtaposition of his loving gestures to our earlier rampant fucking is mind-boggling, but I know there's nothing to complain about. He can be everything to me. I hope I can be everything to him, too. He tilts my head toward his, and he adorns me with feather-soft kisses before stopping to rest his forehead on my chest. We breathe in peaceful synchronization, water droplets lazily falling from our skin.

We barely give each other room to breathe, wrapped up in each other like this. But after a few more moments, I feel odd, and I realize that the flower’s essence has filled me with a lust I can’t explain. Though I've been taking a confident lead, I find myself blushing and looking away from Muriel, the way that he does with me sometimes. It seems Muriel is of the same opinion. Suddenly, his body exudes frenetic energy with his hands on my waist, his mouth on my breast, his cock erect against my stomach. My hands are everywhere and nowhere at once, a frustrating and exhilarating situation where all I can think of is the hunger, the need of having him. My hands shake as I grasp his length desperately, but he takes my wrist to stop me. "Let me," he growls, pulling me out of the water in an easy manner.

In an amazing display of strength and dexterity, he lifts me and wraps my legs around his torso, perfectly positioning the tip of his cock to meet my entrance. Dripping wet, I slide onto him easily, and he angles me back just enough so that I can feel the entirety of his length and girth within my walls. I'm about to moan his name when he picks me up again and again, pumping me onto him in a staccato rhythm. I realize he's actually _walking_ while fucking me, albeit slowly, and he's taking me back into the hut. Before I can come, he pulls me off of him, and I whimper, looking up at him with desperation in my eyes.

"Show me how to please you without...this thing of mine," he requests as he lays me back onto the bed, pushing a finger against my slit, moving up and down clumsily, the callus of his fingertip creating a delicious sensation on my skin.

Forcing my lungs to breathe as regularly as possible, I smile and guide his finger up toward my clit. I shiver noticeably, and I look down in time to see Muriel's shy smile, as if he's just found something precious. He rubs in tiny circles, changing strokes every now and again, diligently observing my reactions. I'm not surprised that he's such an attentive lover, but I can still hardly believe my good fortune. He doesn't stop paying close attention to the little nub of flesh, and he uses the wetness of my pussy to lubricate his finger, allowing him to rub faster. "M...Muri..." I moan weakly, my eyes rolling to the back of my head, arms struggling to keep my body raised. "You're...you're going to make me come..."

And then I feel his tongue flicking at my clit. He's slowly pushed his finger into me, and I nearly jump at the sudden introduction of stimulation. Is my whole body shaking? Am I still conscious? Two of his fingers are now inside me, those thick fingers, and the back of my mind processes that perhaps those two fingers could easily be compared to a regular man's cock, and he most certainly would win. I wonder if insanity is taking over; my back arches as if being lifted by an invisible power as he strokes at a part of me that I could never reach on my own. How many times have I come? The release is so intense I find that I'm laughing for no reason but the fact that I am feeling so stupidly good. I should feel weak and spent, but the flower keeps me alert.

"Mmh," comes the faint sound of Muri's approval as he laps at my pussy greedily, the rhythm of his fingers gradually coming to a halt.

The smile on my face, eyes closed, is indicative of my merry mood. I can tell that the flower's aroma is finally wearing off of me; the last orgasm was enough to do it. My chest heaves in another attempt to catch my breath. How many times have we done it so far? I turn to him, and my smile widens, realizing that he's playing with himself in front of me. Watching me. His head tilts back, enraptured, every so often catching himself and turning his heavy-lidded eyes onto me. I watch those green eyes trail across my body, gazing up and down, stopping at my breasts; I wonder if they're his favorite part of me? I breathe along with him as if he's fucking me, even though I can't possibly go another round. We match our sighs and groans as he grasps his cock harder, stroking it faster, and I reach out to squeeze his balls gently. "Aghhh!" he moans loudly, along with my name, and I know he's close.

I manage to get onto all fours and crawl toward him. His eyes widen as he watches me inching closer, and his face reddens when I lick my lips and stick out my tongue. "Y-You...want me to...? In your mouth?"

"C'mon, Muri. I think you'll like seeing me covered in your seed. Might as well try it, right?" I tease before licking his tip, encouraging him to continue.

He curses out loud before praising my name, the intensity increasing. His cock is twitching, and I continue to lick or squeeze when I can, making sure I don't interfere with the work of his large hands. Before long, he throws his head back, and his hot seed is dripping onto my face, my hair, my breasts. "O-Oh," he says, breath catching as he glances down at me. "I...I don't know why that's so arousing. I'm s-sorry, I...I just...I was supposed to clean you up..."

A moment of silence later, we start laughing earnestly as I clean myself up. I don't mind. He doesn't mind. We're here together, and we allowed ourself this closeness for the evening, knowing that there will be many more like that to come. We lay entwined together, his fingers lazily stroking my hair. Chuckling, he says, "I'm sorry I distracted you from making dinner. I did actually mean to come and help with that."

"Oh, it's all right. I just realized I didn't even put any water in. You can still help with it," I grin, nuzzling into his chest. "Or finish it, that's fine, too."

"I'd be happy to. I'll make whatever you like," he replies with a quiet glow, holding me close. "If you're not hungry...why don't we take a quick nap?"

"Not a bad idea," I yawn, stretching and pulling the blanket over us. "As much as I loved this, please don't wake me up with it just yet. I think you've done a number on me, love."

Muriel blushes furiously, flustered in a rushed apology. "I-I'm so sorry, I...I just wanted to practice, I didn't mean..."

I put a finger to his lips. "Shh. I don't mind at all. Practice is great. After all, they say practice makes perfect...so I absolutely expect that we're going to do this again once I'm ready. Hope you're okay with that, Muriel."

His face red, he responds by snuggling me close and kissing the top of my head. He keeps me warm, and before I know it, we're asleep in the comfort of his hut, Muriel and I.


End file.
